Now I'm All Alone (Walking Dead Fanfiction)
by desmund22
Summary: Jake was a normal Georgia boy. But, the zombie apocalypse turns his entire world upside down. Him and his parents, David and Shelley, are just simply trying to survive. But, what happens when Jake's world turns even worse?
1. Chapter 1

Hi, I'm Jake Shereck. You guessed it, the apocalypse has begun. Me and my family left our home and headed toward Atlanta. They said the city was safe, but it was far from it. We ended up in a camp just outside the city. I felt uncomfortable around other people, I still haven't gotten used to it yet. But, these people are my new family. They're nice, and all, but still, I was never really a people person.

There are two other kids at the camp, their names are Carl and Sophia. Carl's mom is Lori. Carl's dad is dead. Sophia's parents are Carol and Ed. Ed clearly abuses Carol, but I just keep quiet about it. Rick's friend is Shane, who seems to be the "leader" of the group. Then there's the Chinese guy, Glenn, a blonde girl Amy, and her sister Andrea. There's Morales and his family, and then the black guy is T-Dog. I don't think that's his real name. There's Merle and his brother, Daryl. An old guy, Dale, and his friend, Jim. Oh, and a black woman, Jacqui. I think that's everybody, there are so many people that I might've forgotten a couple. Andrea, T-Dog, Merle, Glenn, Jacqui, and Morales went on a run in Atlanta. I don't know why they'd do such a dangerous thing, but we needed the food.

I always thought that a zombie apocalypse would be cool, but not when you're hungry all the time. I miss being able to eat whenever I was hungry for the past 11 years.

I at least had Carl and Sophia to talk to, they made me forget that I was hungry.

"You like Science Dog too?" I asked Carl.

"Heck yeah I do! I used to read them when I got home from school!" Carl replied.

"Wow, we have a lot in common!"

"Yeah, we really do! Do you-"

Carl was cut off by a voice coming out of a ham radio Dale had set up.

"…Hello, hello, can anybody hear my voice?"

Amy runs over to the radio.

"…Anyone out there… can anyone hear me? Please respond…" the mysterious voice said.

"Hey! Hello?" Amy shouted.

"…Hello? Can you hear my voice?" the mysterious voice asked again.

"Yes, I can hear you! You're coming through! Over!"

"…Broadcasting on emergency channel… traveling on highway 85… if anybody reads, please respond."

"Yes! Yes, I'm reading you!"

He obviously isn't getting a signal. Amy tinkers with the radio a bit, but still nothing. Jim tells Amy to keep trying, since she knew best how to work it. Shane overheard and takes position with the radio.

"Officer Shane Walsh here, broadcasting to unknown person. Please respond. Hello, hello, come back…"

There was still nothing but static.

"He's gone." Shane told.

An arm crept onto me and started rubbing my arm. It's my mom. It feels nice when she does that. We walked away with my dad. We all sat down next to each other, it was nice. I looked to the side of me to see Lori walking off. Carl tried to go after her, but Shane stopped him and he went after Lori. They both came back after about a minute. Lori talked to Carl, gave him a kiss, and Carl ran off.

It's really nice when you have a family in times like this.


	2. Chapter 2

Carl, Sophia and I were playing in the dirt with some sticks and twigs. My parents were doing chores and Lori was talking with Amy.

"Dale, I'm heading out. Sweetheart, I want you to stay where Dale can see you, okay?" Lori asked.

"Yes mom." Carl replied.

Lori walked off into the woods and I suddenly was very curious about where she was heading towards.

"Where's she going?" I questioned Carl.

"I don't know." He replied.

"She probably won't go too far." Sophia reassured Carl.

We continued to play in the dirt. It was the most entertaining thing we could do since… you know, it's the end of the world. Anything that could ease stress is entertaining for me. Lori came back later on and Shane was with her apparently. I didn't know what they were doing, but I just ignored it. Something was fishy though. The rest of the day was really slow. I did some chores, played with Carl and Sophia, and I was actually able to eat a slice of bread. That was the most I've ever eaten in the past two days. Night was near, and I was sitting in between both my parents. Dale and Jim were working on the RV and Shane was with Carl, teaching him how to tie knots. Amy was really worried about her sister and the others. I was too.

"It's late. They should've been back by now." Amy worried.

"Worrying won't make it better." Dale relieved.

A voice suddenly came from the radio again and everybody started to crowd around.

"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?"

It was T-Dog! He was ok! Dale ran over to the radio.

"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat."

"Shane, is that you?" T-Dog asked.

"Is that them?" Lori questioned.

"We're in some deep shit," T-Dog exclaimed. "we're trapped in the department store."

"He said they're trapped?" Shane questioned.

"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of them. We're surrounded." T-Dog told.

"T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat." Dale commanded.

The radio signal suddenly was disconnected.

"They said the department store." Lori explained.

" I heard it too." Dale added.

"Shane?" Lori asked.

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that." he told everyone.

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy interrogated.

"Look Amy, I know that this is not easy…"

"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us."

"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do."

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch."

Amy stormed off and Lori followed her. Shane thought to himself, and he walked in the other direction, taking Carl with him. Everybody else walked in their own directions. My parents, Carol, Ed, and Sophia went toward our tents. Sophia and I walked off together and Carol tried to go to my parents, but Ed held her back with what seemed like a strong grip. We sat down.

"Does your dad hit your mom?" I asked.

"My dad said if I told anyone, he'd hit me too." Sophia replied.

I knew then and there that this conversation needed to be over. We talked about other stuff for a little bit, then went to our tents and to sleep. I thought hard about what life would be like if my parents were abusive. I shook my head, trying to clear all those thoughts and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

So far, today was a pretty good day. I was able to have two cereal bars for breakfast, so that's always a plus! Me, Carl, and Sophia were talking for a while today, but Lori pulled Carl away and now she's giving him a haircut and Shane is with them. I overheard a bit of their conversation.

"I'll tell you what. You just get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I will teach you to catch frogs." Shane told Carl.

"Have you ever caught a frog?" Sophia asked me.

"No," I replied, "I never thought of it. I don't even like frogs, they creep me out."

"Me too!" She agreed.

"What else do you not like?" I asked.

"Well-"

She was interrupted by something that sounded like a car horn going off. Shane, Dale, and Amy come next to each other and are trying to figure out what the noise is and where it's coming from. The sound kept getting louder. I looked at Sophia, then my parents. I went with my parents to see what was going on. The car came into the camp, and it was really loud. I had to cover my ears, but I could still hear everybody else screaming. It was Glenn! He came back! But where was everybody else? Merle, T-Dog, Andrea?

"Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!" Dale commanded.

"I don't know how!" Glenn replied.

"Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please." Shane requested.

"My sister Andrea…"

"Pop the damn hood!" Shane shouted.

"What? Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah!" Glenn said.

They kept going back and forth. Amy was especially worried about Andrea. Shane finally was able to turn the car alarm off by unplugging the battery.

"Is she coming back?" Amy questioned Glenn.

Glenn assured, "Yes!"

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?"

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well, Merle not so much."

So, was Merle bit? Did he die? Was he left behind? He didn't really clarify.

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?" Shane antagonized Glenn.

"I think we're okay." Dale reassured.

"You call being stupid okay?"

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"

Glenn said, "Sorry. Got a cool car."

I really liked Glenn. He kinda served as comic relief for the entire group. We could use that in this type of world, he was a really funny guy. Suddenly, another vehicle comes into the camp. This time it's a pickup truck. I see people come out of it. First I see Andrea, who immediately runs over and hugs Amy. Next Morales comes out and hugs his family, and then Dale. Carl and Lori separated themselves from the group and Lori kneeled onto one knee. She was saying something to Carl, but I couldn't catch anything. He started to cry and he jumped into Lori's arms. I felt bad for Carl, his dad being dead and all. I can't imagine myself in his shoes right now.

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked.

"New guy… He got us out." Glenn answered.

"New guy?"

"Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!" Morales called out.

A man came out of the pickup truck. He had a sheriff's uniform on, so he must've been a cop, just like Shane.

"The guy's a cop, like you." Morales stated.

There you go. He came closer to us and Shane looked at him weirdly. I was confused, did he know him, or something?

"Dad! Dad!" Carl shouted.

I looked over to him and he was running over to this man, still crying, and then this man did too, whom I assume is Carl's dad. Lori came over to him as well, and they all shared a group hug. Wow, a Grimes family reunion. Some people even began to tear up as well, I almost did. Carl was so happy to see his dad, he was introducing him to everybody in the group.

"Dad, this is my friend, Jake." Carl introduced.

"Hi there, kiddo. I'm Rick. You being nice to Carl?" He chuckled.

"Yes." I also chuckled.

Him and my parents introduced each other, and Carl showed him to the rest of the group. I could also see how happy Lori was, she was laughing at seeing Carl introduce Rick to everybody. After everybody was settled in, Carl couldn't get away from his dad, so me and Sophia got together again.

"It makes me happy when good stuff happens." I told Sophia.

"Me too, why can't we always have days like tthis?" She asked.

That was a really good question. Why can't we always have good days like this?


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since Rick came along, life has been getting a little better, at the least. We had a nice campfire the night he came, but Shane and Ed had a little argument. I didn't like Ed at all, he was not a good father nor husband. Daryl came back today, but he didn't handle the situation about Merle too well. He created a scene, not really surprised. Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog went back to Atlanta to go get Merle, Andrea and Amy caught a whole bunch of fish, which I thought was the coolest thing ever, and Jim was digging up holes for some reason. Shane pinned him down and tied him to a tree. I never really talked to him, but I don't think he was sane. Me, Carl, and Sophia were coloring for the time being.

"They're not back yet." Carl said to Lori.

"We don't need to talk about that." Lori said back.

"Your dad's a police officer, son. He helps people. Probably just came across some folks needing help, that's all. That man, he is tough as nails. I don't know him well, but… I could see it in him. Am I right?" Jim intervened.

He was completely right, I agreed with him 100%. If Rick could survive out there on his own ever since this whole thing started, and be able to rescue everybody from the department store, he could come back without a scratch going back out there, especially with Daryl. He always seemed like somebody who knows what to do in this world.

"All right, who wants to help me clean some fish, huh?" Shane asked.

"I do!" I exclaimed.

"Sweet. Come on, guys." Carl commanded.

Lori and my parents called from afar, "Stay with Carol!"

We ran and cleaned off some fish. Sophia was grossed out and she left with Carol. Shane stayed with me and Carl, and we were having a ball. I can't believe for once I was having fun.

"What's wrong with Ed?" Carl questioned.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo." Shane responded.

Something happened to Ed? I didn't know. Now I feel bad for us making Sophia do this. Carl and Shane separated and I talked to my parents about how much fun I was having. Night finally came and we all crowded around the campfire and had a nice fish dinner.

"Hmm, I guess we need some more plates. I'll go get some." My Mom told.

"I'll come with." My dad also told.

I didn't really care that they were going, I just sat with everyone else. We had a nice conversation again, and we all enjoyed each other's company. Amy stood up.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked.

"I have to pee… Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…" Amy joked.

Everybody had a nice chuckle, it was well needed. After a minute, I heard a scream. It was Amy's. I turned around and a walker was biting right into Amy's arm! Holy crap! What's going on?

"Mom!' Carl cried.

"Carl!" Lori cried.

Those two crying for each other made me realize… my parents. Where the hell are they? I think I should check the RV. I apprehensively ran to the RV, dodging other walkers and entered. I saw two walkers gnawing on something. I didn't know what to do! I saw a gun on a table, I took it and shot one of the walkers, making me fall down. I wasn't prepared for such a kick in the gun. I shot the other one more carefully. My jaw dropped and tears filled my eyes as I saw my two parents on the ground. They weren't moving.

"No… No! No, no, no!" I screamed.

I heard somebody come inside the RV. I turned around and it was Daryl. Of all people I wanted to see, I saw Daryl. He saw me in my current state and saw my who I assumed to be dead parents.

"…Step aside, kiddo. Let me take care of this." Daryl prompted as he gestured me to go out of the RV. All the walkers were gone, Carl and Lori reunited with Rick, Andrea wouldn't leave Amy, and everyone else was okay. Well, not everyone. I dropped down on my knees and broke down into tears. Everybody acknowledge me and I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. It was Lori's. She assumed what happened and tried to calm me down.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, it's okay." Lori tried to reassure.

I hate when people say that. Something bad happens and they say it'll be okay. But it won't! My parents are fucking dead!

Then it hit me. I finally realized that now, I'm all alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Well, today is the burning of all the bodies. I didn't want any part of it, at all. I wasn't able to sleep at all last night, thinking about what happened that night. I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head, I'm never going to see my parents ever again. Hell, I'm not even going to see the rest of my family again. I really must be alone now. I heard my tent zip open and somebody came inside.

"Come get some fresh air, people are concerned about you." Lori told.

She left the tent, but she left it open. It's so annoying when people do that, but oh well. I sighed and threw my blanket off of me. I exited my tent and I squinted my eyes, adjusting to the light. There was a lot going on. Mostly everybody was helping with the bodies, but Andrea was still grieving right over Amy, and Carl and Sophia were playing together. I really didn't know what to do out here, so I walked to a tree and sat down. I tucked my knees under my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. Carl and Sophia looked over at me, but they knew not to come near me. I appreciated that.

"A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!" Jacqui yelled out.

Great, just great. Another person we're gonna lose. Everybody crowded around him I just lifted my head. He picked up a shovel, but T-Dog held him back. Daryl lifted Jim's shirt revealing the wound. They separated from Jim and formed a circle. Lori and Carol told Carl and Sophia to go in the other direction. They started to play in the dirt again. I don't even know why I'm still out here, what's the difference if I just sit around in my tent or outside? A little bit later, I heard a gunshot. Surprisingly, it didn't even startle me. I assumed it was Andrea finally doing what had to be done to Amy. She finally stood up and helped wrap her body. After about an hour maybe, I still haven't moved. They were preparing the bodies for a funeral. I heard somebody sit down next to me.

"I know what you're going through, my dad was eaten last night." It was Sophia.

"…I'm sorry to hear that." I responded.

"I'm sorry about your parents." She told.

"Thanks."

We just sat there for a minute, and she moved toward me. I felt her lips press against my cheek. I think she just kissed me. My heart started racing and she walked back toward Carl. What did that mean? I'm more confused then I ever have been in my entire life. Does she like me? Or does she just feel bad for me? Could it be that I'm not alone after all? …No, I'm always alone now without my parents.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, we left the camp on very short notice, at least I thought we did. I guess that's what happens when you stay out of all group activity. We were heading to this place called the CDC. I didn't really care where we went, as long as I could be alone. Morales and his family left us, and Jim's still not feeling so hot. I was crammed into a car with the Grimes and Sophia. We suddenly came to a stop. Dale's RV was busted. We all were out and I saw Rick and Shane carry Jim to a tree.

"Hey Jim… I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this." Shane told.

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." Jim said back.

"Ok. Alright."

"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight." Jacqui said.

Jacqui kissed Jim on the cheek.

"Jim, do you want this?" Rick asked handing Jim a gun.

"No," Jim replied, "You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Oh, hey." Dale said. Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us."

"Okay." Jim replied.

We all left Jim just sitting against the tree. That didn't feel right, why would he want to come back as one of them? I would just ask someone to put a bullet in my head. We continued driving for what felt like forever. We finally arrived at this big facility, which I assumed was the CDC. We all exited our vehicles and made our way toward the entrance. Man, there were a ton of walkers just all over the ground. We finally made it to the entrance, it was obvious no one was there. There was a whole argument going on with everybody, but I didn't pay attention. I hated it when they argued, it made me feel uncomfortable. Me and my parents used to argue. The just looked down at one of the walkers, and saw my mother's face on one of them. I shook my head, and my eyes landed on another walkers which had my dad's face on it. I just looked at the sky so I couldn't see anything.

"It moved. It moved!" Rick shouted.

The camera? No way. There can't be anybody left here. Everybody just started shouting again, and I wanted to cry. But, I held the tears back. I knew that was the right thing to do, especially after what happened recently. I feel like I don't deserve to cry anymore.

"You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" Rick shouted.

I thought that this was the time to leave, nobody was fucking there! We all started walking back to the cars and RV, but I heard something and a big source of light engulfed my sight. I tried to look over to Sophia, but my eyes were busy being burnt by this light.


	7. Author's Note

I've been using scripts for the previous chapters for certain quotes, but I don't have a good source anymore. If anybody wants to hook me up with one, that'd be great and you'd be given a shoutout. If not, I'll try my best to quote from the show. Not the biggest deal.

Hope you all are enjoying the story!


	8. Chapter 7

This bright light was really hurting my eyes. I saw people run in, so I followed. I was able to catch a glimpse of the man who probably opened the door. We all filed in.

"Why are you here, and what do you want? Jenner questioned.

"A chance." Rick replied.

"That's asking an awful lot these days. Grab your things. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that. But, oh well, at least we'll be safe here. We walked into this huge room.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner commanded.

Vi? What the hell? Is it like this big super computer? That's awesome! He forced us to take a blood terse. I always hated having my blood taken, but I guess that's a price I have to pay in order to stay safe. I guess in the long run it wasn't that bad. I saw that Andrea almost fainted. I felt bad for her especially, we're almost in the same position in life now. I lost my family, Andrea lost hers. I could really connect with Andrea if I wanted to. Once all the tests were done, we were lead into a room that looked like a cafeteria. Are we going to actually eat? Holy… shoot, we are! Actual cooked food! I was starving! I feasted on everything I could grab. It was like heaven! Daryl and Glenn had a lot of wine, or beer, or whatever. They were obviously drunk.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again!" Daryl said.

I rolled my eyes in amusement. After we ate, we were given a tour. He said there were a lot of bedrooms, running water, and even video games! I loved playing my PS3 before all this happened! We were all settled and ready for bed, and Carl asked if we could play some PS3 before we went to bed. Lori walked us there and we played Black Ops Zombies. Kind of ironic, isn't it? After about a half hour, Lori came back to get us. I was going to share a room with the Grimes, but Carl asked if the kids could have their own room. Rick, Lori, and Carol all said it was okay. We took our stuff and went into a separate room. Me and Sophia got two different couches, and Carl had to sleep on the floor since he lost in rock, paper, scissors. Carl fell asleep right away, but me and Sophia were still awake.

"Hey." Sophia said.

"Hi." I replied.

"Can I… lay down next to you?"

"Uh… sure."

She came over next to me and pulled the blanket over her. She looked really pretty.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Fine, I guess. I've been better." I answered.

"Yeah, we all have. I want to say I'm sorry."

"For what?'

"Your parents."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but, I just really feel bad for you. I mean, my dad died, but you lost both your-"

"My parents aren't dead. Lori and Rick are in the other room sleeping."

I really only said that because I wanted to avoid the fact that my parents are dead. But it's kinda true, they've been my mother and father figures.

"Oh." Sophia said.

"Yeah." I said back.

We were silent for a few seconds. Sophia leaned her head forward and placed her lips on mine, her soft, warm lips. We pulled away after a little bit and Sophia went back onto her couch.

"Um… So are we like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" I asked.

Sophia chuckled, "I guess you can say that."


	9. Another Author

I am SO, so, so, so, so sorry for not updating at all recently. I had a lot of stupid things going on, and it prevented me from writing. I know I haven't updated in a while, even though my profile says I'll update everyday, but I haven't been living up to that. Expect either today or tomorrow and extra long chapter of "Now I'm All Alone". Thanks for understanding! :D

Oh, and hopefully this will be the last author's note or update in a while.


	10. Chapter 8

I was the first one awake out of the three of us. I stretched on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a little bit. Sophia eventually woke up too.

"Hi." I greeted.

"Hi!" Sophia greeted as well.

The door opened.

"Hey all, breakfast is ready." Lori told.

"Ok, thanks " I said as Lori closed the door. I kicked Carl lightly to wake him up.

"Breakfast." Sophia told.

"Oh, sweet!' Carl exclaimed.

We all got dressed and made our way to the cafeteria. Carl walked in front of Sophia and I. We were holding hands. Carl turned around and noticed us holding hands.

"Um… Are you two-"

"Yes, we are." Sophia interrupted Carl.

"Oh, ok." He replied with his head down.

I think he liked Sophia too. I almost feel bad for him, but I shouldn't and I don't. If he wanted Sophia, he should've made a move. We went into the cafeteria and sat down next to each other.

"How'd you sleep?" Lori asked me.

"As good as good can be." I replied.

She chuckled, "Good. There's some cereal in that cabinet over there."

"Thanks."

I grabbed a box for me and Sophia. I sat back down and poured some cereal for the both of us.

"No milk?" I questioned.

"No, sorry kiddo." Lori replied.

I dealt with it, just being able to have my favorite cereal was good enough. Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and Rick were hungover and I thought it was kind of funny, they got what they deserved. We later went into the main control room and Dr. Jenner was showing us something. We went into the main control room.

"Give me a playback of TS-19." Jenner commanded.

"Playback of TS-19." Vi said.

A bunch of graphics and diagrams showed up on the big screen. Sophia and I were standing next to each other, holding hands, and we looked at each other in amazement.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." Jenner told.

This must really be something. There was something on the big screen, it looked like a brain.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

Thanks for stating the obvious, Carl.

"An extraordinary one… Not that it matters in the end." Jenner responded.

He had a point.

"Take us in for E.I.V." Jenner commanded.

"Enhanced internal view." Vi said.

Everybody finally was here and observed what was on the big screen. Vi zoomed in on the person's brain, it was so cool to see. I've never seen anything like it. It went far into the person's brain.

"What are these lights?" Shane questioned.

"It's a person's life," Jenner responded, "experiences, memories, it's everything. Somewhere in that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique… and human."

"You don't make sense? Ever?" Daryl asked.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death." Jenner responded.

I started to lose interest, I had no clue what he was talking about. I was never the brightest person.

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked.

"…Test subject 19," Jenner replied, "someone who was bitten, and infected… and volunteered to have us… record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event."

It zoomed out and focused on the entire brain. I was so intrigued all of a sudden that I didn't even hear what everyone else was saying. Sophia probably looked at me and I didn't realize it. But I saw Carl move next to me and I looked back at him. Our faces showed just how amazed we were. I saw something spread throughout the brain, that must be the virus. If I was listening, I probably would've known what was happening. Everything suddenly went to black in the brain.

"…Then death." I heard Jenner say. "Everything you ever were or ever will be… gone."

I felt like I was going to cry, but I held the tears back. Sophia brought me into a hug and Carl showed a look of concern. I looked at both of them, showing I was okay. I looked back up.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked Carol.

"Yes." She answered.

A few moments passed of me not paying attention to anything except the thought of my parents' death, and another video appeared on the big screen.

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours." Jenner told us. "In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute… seven seconds."

Everything was dark inside the brain until a little red light came about. I was as intrigued as ever now. The entire stem of the brain kept becoming red, and it was really interesting to see. But suddenly a white… thing went through the person's head.

"God, what was that?" Carol questioned.

"…He shot his patient in the head." Andrea assumed. "…Didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations." Jenner commanded.

"Powering down main screen and workstations."

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea questioned.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal-"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui interrupted Jenner.

"There is that." Jenner replied.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody, somewhere." Andrea assured.

I separated myself from everybody, I can't handle arguments well anymore. Carl and Sophia thought it was okay and they respected my personal space. I just tried not to pay attention to what they were saying. I sat down next to a clock that was counting down. What is it counting down to?

"…What happens at zero?" Dale asked, suddenly bringing me back to the conversation. I walked back next to Sophia and Carl.

"The… basement generators… They run out of fuel." Jenner replied to Dale.

That seemed like a lot of BS. There's more to that clock.

"And then?" Rick asked.

Jenner walked away before any more questions could be asked.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

That doesn't sound too good. Rick, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog went off in their own direction and everyone else went into their rooms. I got a massive headache from looking at the screen so intensely for so long, so I took a nap. Surprisingly, it was a dreamless nap. I guess that's good. But, something woke me up.

"The air conditioning stopped." Lori said as I shifted from a laying down to a seated position. Suddenly, the power went off in our room. Everybody exited their rooms and slammed Jenner with questions about the power.

"Energy use is being prioritized." Jenner vaguely said.

What does that mean? Probably something bad. We all followed Jenner to wherever he was going, and Daryl kept threatening Jenner. We finally met up with the other four and they joined in on the questioning. We all stopped at the main control room and Jenner is telling us about the French, or something. Me and Carl were with Lori and Sophia was with Carol.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Carl.

"You think I know?" He responded.

"Lori, grave your things. Everybody, we're getting out of here NOW!" Rick exclaimed. An alarm went off and caught everybody's attention.

"What's that?" Carl asked Rick.

"30 minutes to decontamination." Vi told.

"Doc, what's going on here!?" Daryl questioned.

"Y'all heard, everybody get your stuff and let's go! Go now! GO!" Shane shouted.

I heard a weird noise, the doors closed. We were locked in. We're so screwed. Carl and Sophia went crying to their moms, but I didn't. I don't have a mom anymore. Daryl and Shane tried beating up Jenner, he damn deserved it. He's trying to kill us!

"I told you, once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again, you heard me say that." Jenner explained. "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?"

No reply.

"WHAT HAPPENS IN TWENTY-EIGHT MINUTES!?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS!?" Jenner questioned. "We protected the public from VERY, NASTY STUFF! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out HALF THE COUNTRY! STUFF YOU DON'T WANT GETTING OUT! EVER! …In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organism from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?"

"…Vi, define."

"H.I.T.s-high impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive. except nuclear."

That was when Sophia, Carl, and other people began to cry. I didn't. I didn't deserve to.

"The vacuum pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5000 and 6000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structure is desired."

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner said.

I dropped to the floor in shock. I sat down against some machine and buried my head in my arms. I tried to clear all thoughts, but the thought of being obliterated just couldn't get out of my mind. I heard everybody trying to break the door open, but it clearly wouldn't work. Sophia, Carl, Lori, and Carol all ended up near me and they were all in tears. Rick, Andrea, and Jenner were arguing, and Andrea was on Jenner's side. Oh, and Daryl tried to cut Jenner's head off. I heard somebody with a gun.

"You better open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off! DO YOU HEAR ME!?" Shane was threatening Jenner at gunpoint.

Rick tried to get Shane to back off, but he started to shoot. Not Jenner, but the computers. Rick took Shane down and took the gun from him. Oh man, this is just too crazy. I can't live like this anymore. I buried my head again and tried to clear my mind again. I just wanted this all to end, no more walkers, no more dying. I knew there was only one way to do that. I heard the doors open and I heard everybody run out. I looked up and I saw Andrea and Jacqui still standing there. I guess they have the same thinking as me.

"Wait! Mom! Where's Jake!?" Sophia shouted in sadness.

"Mom!?" Carl also shouted while crying.

"C'mon Carl, let's keep moving. We don't have a lot of time!" Lori told Carl.

"But he'll die!" They both cried at the same time.

"If we don't hurry, we're gonna die too." Carol told both of them.

It hit me. I may have lost my parents, but there are still people who care about me… maybe even more than they care about themselves. Carl and Sophia are the only two people I have left, basically. I thought for a minute. I figured there was more to life than the death of my parents. It came to me. My life can end at any second, but I knew this wasn't the way to end it… This wasn't the way out. I jumped up and ran past Andrea, Jacqui, and now Dale. I ran as fast as I could, I only had three minutes and forty-seven seconds. I had to hurry. I didn't have enough time to grab anything. I ran straight toward the doors. It was so far away from the main control room, I was already out of breath before I was probably half way there. I almost stopped at the turn toward the rooms, but I knew there was no time. I didn't have much time anyway, two minutes at the most. I kept running, and running, and running for what seemed like forever, but I couldn't stop now. I already chose to not die, so there's no point in quitting. I finally made it to the front entrance, but no one was there and the doors were locked. Shit! I tried kicking them open, but it obviously wouldn't worked. I looked to my right and saw a busted open window. I jumped onto a surface, got on my knees, and crawled through the window. I jumped down onto the pavement, but I landed awkwardly on my ankle, and I screamed in pain. I couldn't walk, and I could barely stand. Rick looked back and saw me.

"Shit!" Rick shouted as he ran toward me.

I limped as fast as I could, but I ended up falling to the ground, withering in pain. I've never felt so much physical pain in my life. Rick finally came over to me, picked me up, and carried me over his shoulder. He finally brought me into Dale's RV and set me down. Sophia ran over to me as quickly as she could and pulled me into a hug. She finally let go and Carl had a huge smile on his face when he looked at me. I smiled back.

"GET DOWN!" Several people shouted.

I looked around all confused, and then my attention was suddenly directed toward the CDC. The entire place just blew up. It was an amazing sight. Well, not in a good way. I've never seen anything like it. I looked at Carl and Sophia in amazement. I looked back and saw Andrea and Dale run into the RV. We all asked if everybody was okay, and then we separated into separate vehicles. Sophia helped me out of the RV, my arm was around her and she was keeping me stable. Me and Sophia sat in the very back of the car, she helped me into there too. Carl and Carol sat in the middle row, Lori in the passenger seat, and Rick drove. We all drove away from the CDC finally in astonishment. We drove for a few minutes, and Sophia rested her head on my shoulder. A huge smile grew across my face, and I rested me head on her head. I fell asleep happy for once.


	11. Chapter 9

I woke up, but I woke up in pain. Sophia was still asleep on my shoulder, so I had to tend to my ankle carefully. Instead, I carefully moved Sophia's head against the window. Now I could completely tend to it. I took my shoe off and then move sock. It felt nice to let my foot breathe. My ankle did not look good, at all. It was a dark purple color. It was swollen and bruised.

"How's it?" Rick asked.

"It hurts. A lot." I responded. "It's swollen and it's purple."

"Oh man, that must be a serious sprain. That happened to me once and it hurt like hell." Rick told.

I felt a sudden burst of massive pain. I wanted to scream, but I let out a tiny screech.

"We're stopping, we have to take a look at that." Rick said.

"Gah, okay." I replied.

We pulled over on a highway interstate. Boy, was that a wreck. Cars scattered all across, some flipped over, and some corpses in them.

"Where are we?" Carl asked as he woke up.

"Highway." Rick responded.

Everybody got out, Rick helped me out of the car. I sat on the ground… in pain, and Carol came over to me to check on my ankle. Everybody else crowded around each other and talked to each other.

"Let me take a look." Carol said.

I showed her the purple, swollen spot. It looked worse than it was a few minutes before.

"Oh boy, that doesn't look good." Carol told.

"I know." I said back.

"It looks like they're all looking for supplies in those cars, I'll tell them to try and find something for you."

"Thanks."

She went off and I stayed in the same spot. I thought about what happened yesterday, at the CDC. I can't believe I thought about killing myself. Well, not just killing myself, but going out like that with Jenner and Jacqui. Even if I did want to kill myself, which I don't anymore, I'd rather do it on my own terms, around the people I care about. Well, I cared about Jacqui, but not Jenner. He was an ass. I'm glad he's gone. I also knew that wouldn't be what my parents wanted me to do. But, we all die eventually, quickly in this world. It hasn't even been that long and we're losing so many people. Mom, Dad, Amy, Ed, Jacqui, it's too much, too soon. But then, something else hit me. What if it was me? What if I was about to die? Well, I knew what it felt like to almost die, since I barely got out of the CDC in time. But what if I was bitten? Would anyone care? What would it feel like? Now I'm curious. I don't want to get bitten, but believe it or not, if I can get bitten and not die, I'd be up for it. I don't want to die, but I want know what it feels like to be infected. I… I've got to stop thinking about this. Thankfully, I felt something fall onto my lap, but it scared me. It was some sort of medical tape. I looked up.

"Wrap that around where it hurts, it's the best we can do." Daryl said.

"Oh, uh, thanks." I replied. "Daryl, can I talk to you?"

"I don't got long, but what's on your mind?"

"If I was… bitten, would you care?"

"…Listen here little man. I don't always open up like this, but you know Merle, right? When we went back for him in Atlanta? Yeah, he wasn't there. He was probably bit by now. I'm the only one left of my family, just like you. You probably feel the same way, but these people are my new family. As much as I hate some of them, I'm with them everyday. That means you too. But, I don't hate you. I like you, and I respect you. You're going through a lot of shit, I can't imagine what you're going through. And it'd really suck if you were… In short, yeah, I'd care."

"…Thanks Daryl."

"No prob, little man. Stay safe, and try not to walk on that."

He walked away. Wow, I really admire Daryl. I didn't think he was that kind of guy, so caring, and emotional, almost. I look up to him now. I took the medical wrap and used all of it to wrap it around my ankle. It was extremely tight, it hurt almost, but that would make it heal better, I guess. I got back up to a vertical base, and I hopped around, using the cars as support. I hopped over to Sophia, since Carl was with Lori.


	12. Chapter 10

"How does it feel?" Sophia asked me.

"Not good, at all." I said back.

"Oh. Can you walk on it?"

"No, Daryl told me not to."

"Really? When that happened to me I was still able to walk on it."

"It probably wasn't as bad as this."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Carl joined up with us, but he was interrupted before he could say anything.

"Carl, Jake, Sophia, get down now!" Rick quietly shouted at us.

Me and Sophia went under a car, and Carl went under a different one. What the hell is going on? I want to know!

"What's going on?" Sophia asked in fear as she grabbed onto my arm.

"I don't know." I replied.

I looked over to Carl and he shrugged his shoulders. But something came in between our view. They were feet. Walkers' feet. I heard Sophia crying next to me.

"Are we gonna die?" Sophia asked.

"Shh, no Sophia. We're going to be okay." I assured as I wrapped my arm around her.

This was very frightening. The softest noise could cause one of them to come under the car and devour us. For the first time in a long time, I was terrified. I saw Carol and Lori under a car together, Lori was covering Carol's mouth. She was also terrified, but not over herself, over Sophia. I'm sure Lori's terrified over Carl as well. It's already been like five minutes, maybe, and they're still going. I saw Rick past Carl under one of the cars, he put his finger to his nose, telling me to shut up. I knew what to do, I'm not that clueless. I didn't see any other walkers, the coast was finally clear. I crawled out from under the car to make sure. Before I could get out, a walker spotted me. Oh shit! It was going under the car! I crawled the opposite way, forcing Sophia out too. We went off the highway and into the forest. Now there were two after us! We slid down a hill. Sophia was able to get right up, but I couldn't. She was already far ahead of me. I was able to get back up, but not without those two walkers being right behind me. I couldn't hop away from them, so I tried limping as fast as I could, but I tripped and then the two walkers were on top of me. I tried pushing them away, but I wasn't strong enough. This looked like end for me. I was ready to die. But I heard a gunshot, and one of the walkers' heads fell onto my chest. And another gunshot, and the other one's head fell onto my chest. Rick ran right past me, probably to go after Sophia. I desperately tried to get these walkers off of my before more were able to pile up. I finally got one off of me, and someone helped me get the other one off. It was Lori. God, Lori is really my mom. She'd do anything for me. I saw Carl next to her. Lori helped me stand up and Carl supported me getting back to the group. We somehow managed up the hill and a bunch of people were happy to see me. Carol wasn't as happy as the others. Carl helped me over to a car. As soon as he let go of me I fell to the ground, and I sat against a car. Lori sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Jake, I know you don't like to cry, but sometimes you just have to let it out. I'm here for you." Lori told me.

I bursted into tears. I buried my face into Lori's arms. I said I'd never cry again, but I just couldn't hold it back.

"Lori… I killed Sophia." I told her.

"What do you mean baby?" She questioned.

I pulled my head out of her arms.

"It's my fault we had to run into the woods. I was so stupid to look out from under the car, I should've waited for Rick's signal. I tried to get out the other end of the car, but I ended up pushing Sophia out too. If I wasn't so dumb to just… look out there, I could've prevented her from dying and me from almost dying.

"Honey, you didn't kill her. She's still alive and she's gonna be back."

"When I think about it, if I wasn't dumb enough to stay behind at the CDC and jump that high from the window, I probably could've saved her too. Lori, why am I so stupid?"

"Jake, look at me. You are not stupid, by any means. At the CDC, you just wanted to get out of there as soon as you could, you weren't thinking. And under the car, you had no other way out. And that walker could've gotten Sophia if you didn't do what you did. You are a smart, brave little boy, and nothing else."

"…Thanks Lori."

Lori always had something good to say to me, no matter what mood I'm in. I wanted to agree with her, but I couldn't. She was wrong. I killed Sophia. She's not coming back. First I killed my parents, but I had to, it was the walkers' fault. But Sophia? It was nobody's but mine. She's dead, but the worst part about it was that the last time I saw her, she was running away… She was in fear, terror, and that destroyed me. I know I said I would never cry again after the last time, but I ended up crying again in Lori's arms.


	13. Chapter 11

(I was feeling generous :D)

Lori stayed with me for a few more minutes until we separated. I tried to walk on my injured foot. I flinched as soon as my foot touched the ground. But I tried again, and I placed my foot on the ground. I slowly put weight on it. I continued to do so until I was standing completely normal. It hurt a lot. I took some weight off of it, and it felt a lot better already. I tried walking normally, but it wasn't really working. I just did a small limp, barely noticeable. I looked at Daryl, and he smiled at me. I watched myself move, it looked like I was walking! That's a plus. I walked over to a car and looked into the window.

"Um, Jake…" I heard Carl.

I turned my head to look at him.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked.

"I'm all ears." I said as I sat down.

"Back at the CDC," he said sitting down, "Um… you… uh…"

"You want to ask me why I stayed behind in the CDC, don't you?"

"…Yeah."

"Carl, I know I'm only a year older than you, but I think you're too young to know why."

"Come on! Don't give me that."

"Okay, okay. I'm probably gonna get in trouble for telling you, but you deserve to know. I felt that there was nothing left in life."

"But-"

"Let me finish. With my mom and dad dead, I thought there was no one left who cared about me, no one left who loved me. But then, I thought of Lori, Rick, you, Sophia, it made me change my mind. Listen to me when I say this. I was stupid to stay behind. Don't mind my language, but because I stayed behind, I fucked up. I fucked up my ankle and I fucked up Sophia's life."

"Wha, what do you mean?"

Tears started to fill Carl's eyes.

I sighed. I stared at Carl for a few seconds. "I really shouldn't have said that. Shit."

Carl moved closer to me.

"I never thought I'd be the one giving advice, but oh well. Carl, this world changes us. I always liked to look on the bright side, but now I'm a realist. I use logic. I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but Sophia's not coming back. Carl, please don't cry. You have to grow up, this world forces you do that. I know it may sound awkward, but I'm here for you."

Carl came over and hugged me. I hugged him back, he needed it. Poor kid, I shouldn't have rambled on.

"Oh god, they're back." I heard Glenn say.

I put my hands on Carl's shoulders.

"Carl, wipe away the tears, and man up. As far as anyone else is concerned, this conversation never happened. Got it?" I explained.

Carl nodded his head. We walked back to everyone else. God, what have I done to Carl?

"You didn't find her?" Carol asked in sadness.

"Her trail went cold." Rick explained. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own… to spend the night alone in the woods."

"Out in the dark is no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl explained.

"But she's twelve, she can't be out there on her own." Carol said.

"Rick… Daryl…" I interrupted. "Please."

"Please Dad?" Carl aided me.

Rick kneeled down.

"Boys, it's not safe to be searching through the night. We ca-" Rick began to say.

"It's not safe for us to be searching for her together, but it is for her to be out there alone all night?" I interrogated.

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"We have to wait until morning."

"Who knows if she'll last that long!?"

Carol started to cry, and Carl did again. Rick was speechless. I stormed off before anyone could say anything, including me. I went into the RV and sat down on a bench. I was able to overhear some people agreeing with me, some disagreeing. Carl came into the RV.

"Um, Jake? Didn't you say you already knew she was dead?" He asked me.

"I do. But, it's best to know for sure."

I sounded like such a hypocrite out there, thank god only Carl knows. Well, it would be nice to know for sure whether she's dead or not.

"Oh…" He replied.

I tried to ignore everyone for the rest of the night, I hated people at that moment. People came in and out of the RV, they acknowledged me, but I ignored them. Finally, night came along and I went to sleep.


	14. Chapter 12

I woke up early, or what seemed like early. I quietly got up and walked out of the RV. I saw Rick and Daryl already awake and dressed, and they saw me.

"Can I talk to you?" Rick asked me.

"I guess." I replied.

"I didn't appreciate what you said when we came back."

"Well-"

"Let me talk. We're busting our asses out there looking for the little girl, and we don't need you criticizing our efforts."

"Rick, back off." Daryl called.

"No Daryl, he needs to know." Rick called back.

"No, you just want to yell at him. Just give him a break, he just wants to see Sophia again."

Rick looked at me, giving me the look. "Get dressed, we're all searching for Sophia today." He told.

I walked back into the RV to get dressed. After, everybody gathered around Rick and Daryl.

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick told.

"These aren't the type of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked.

"We've been over that." Shane said. "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping of rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the tree I'm worried about." Andrea said.

They continued to blabber, and Carl looked at me. He nodded his head, hinting that we wanted to talk to me. We met up.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"Do you think we'll find her?" He also asked.

"Um… Find her dead or alive?" I whispered.

"Either."

"I hope so."

I walked back to the group, as did Carl.

"Keep an eye on Jake and Carl, will you?" Rick asked Dale.

"We're going too." I affirmed.

"You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible." Carl explained.

Rick looked at Lori.

"Your call, I can't always be the bad guy." She told.

"Well, they have all of you to look after, I'd say he's in good hands." Dale explained.

"…Okay. Okay." Rick said. "But always in our sight, no exceptions."

I nodded and Rick walked away. After a few minutes, we ventured into the woods. It was interested to see fully grown, alive plants around. But, that was besides the point. I was getting distracted. We have to find Sophia dead, alive, or undead. I hope it's alive, but I think it's gonna be one of the other two.

"Shane, look. Dad said I could carry it and Mom said as long as I was-" Carl began.

"Keep it down. We're looking for Sophia." He fired back. "You need to foes on the task."

As much of a dick Shane is, I agreed with him. Carl was getting distracted.

"Got to keep up." Lori told.

"I am." Carl replied.

"You okay?"

"I think Shane's mad at me. Did I do something wrong?"

"No. No honey, I promise you."

Okay, now I'm mad at myself for agreeing with Shane even though he was right. He hurt Carl, and that hurt me. Sometimes I want to punch him in the face.

"He's just worried about Sophia, that's all. Come on."

We came up to a tent. We all wanted to go forward, but Daryl, Rick, and Shane volunteered to go themselves. Carol came over and called for Sophia. She ended up not being in the tent. We all heard bells ringing all of a sudden. That had to be Sophia! We all ran toward this small church building. They all got there before I did, since I couldn't run. Lori stayed behind with me, but the entire walk there was silent. We finally got there and everybody already exited. I assumed there was no Sophia. Dammit! I walked inside of the church and stood next to Carl and Rick who were listening to Carol pray. I don't think praying will help us find Sophia, we have to keep looking! I went outside and carefully down the steps and sat down. We all gathered together after a little while.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back. Search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." Shane told.

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay too." Carl said. "…I'm her friend."

"Me… me too." I added.

"…Just be careful, okay?" Lori asked.

"We will." Carl answered.

"When did you start growing up?" Lori asked as she pulled us into a hug.

We ventured off away from everybody else. Rick separated himself from us and me and Carl were sitting on the stairs. We didn't say anything or do anything except exchange smiles.

"Get what you needed?" Shane asked Rick.

"Guess I'll find out."

We both got up and started walking deeper into the woods. No sign of Sophia anywhere. It seemed like we were just walking aimlessly. We suddenly heard some branches snapping and we were very cautious. It ended up being a deer. I couldn't believe it, a deer is actually still alive in this world. It looked so beautiful. Shane was about to shoot it, but Carl started moving toward the deer. I kind of wanted to also, but I hesitated. Rick and Shane nudged me to go and I did. I felt nervous for some reason, I didn't know why. I was next to Carl now, he looked at me and we moved closer. The deer then looked at us. It startled me, but no one noticed thankfully. We kept moving closer, and closer, and closer, until I heard a gunshot. I saw the deer fall to the ground… and so did Carl.

"Oh no. No. No, no, no, no!" Rick shouted.

Rick went over to Carl's lifeless body, or what seemed like lifeless. He looked dead. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, I was still in shock. I dropped down onto my knees and continued to look at Carl. I fell into a seating position and just sat there. First Mom and Dad, Sophia, and now Carl? Everybody's dying and there's nobody left.


	15. Chapter 13

"Who the hell are you and what do you want!?" Shane shouted at a fat old man.

"My name's Otis! I was just going hunting! I didn't mean to shoot your boy!"

"But you did!" I hollered at him.

"Look, I live on a farm. A man named Hershel can patch him up."

"…Take us, now!" Rick commanded.

"This way." Otis told.

Rick picked Carl up and started running. Otis and Shane ran too. I swallowed my breath and started running, despite how much it hurt. I fought the pain, I've done that for over a week now. Not just physical pain. We ended up in an open plain after a while, Rick and Carl ahead, Shane and Otis behind, and me in back. I heard the three argue, and I caught someone say we're half a mile away, probably Otis. I didn't think I could make it another inch without my foot breaking off. I stopped for a sec, then started sprinting. I fought all of the pain away, even though I'm probably messing my ankle up, big time. I finally saw something up ahead, it looked like a house. Was that what Otis was talking about? We kept running, and running, and running. Rick went inside, us three followed soon enough. I walked inside to see Rick and the man who I assumed is Hershel tend to Carl.

"…I've got a heartbeat. It's faint." Hershel told.

What? He's alive? How? I left the room before anything else could be heard, I didn't want to be in there when Carl died. I sat outside of the room they were in and I dropped onto the floor against the wall, holding my ankle. I put my hands on my head and I just sat there. I closed my eyes and pretended this wasn't happening. I imagined me, Sophia, Carl, Mom and Dad sitting together and having a good time. But what's the point in pretending? Let's face it, everybody I'm close to is dead, except Lori. This can't be happening, it just can't. Rick walked out of the room and went outside, not acknowledging me. Understandable, but he just left me here. I stayed here, just thinking about the future. Why does everybody have to keep dying? I mean, who's next? Lori? Rick? Daryl? Glenn? Carol? …Me? I almost did, I was lucky to survive. Next time, I don't think I will be. The three guys walked back into the room, and I followed them.

"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked.

"A-positive… Same as mine." Rick responded.

"I have O-positive, if that helps." I added.

My parents said that my blood type would come in handy.

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far I'm gonna need you." Hershel said.

"What about me?" I asked.

"Listen kid, I don't want to have to take anything from you, you're just a boy."

"…Okay."

"What happened?"

"I was tracking a buck." Otis explained. "Bullet went through it… Went clean through."

"The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out… I'm counting six."

"…Lori doesn't know." Rick said. "My wife doesn't know."

Lori! Shit. I don't want to see her face when she finds out. But how will she react? I sat back down outside of the room and stayed there for a while. I actually felt like I wanted to die again.


	16. Chapter 14

I sat alone for a while, I haven't moved.

"Rick." a young lady called.

Rick and Shane went inside. I stayed put. I didn't want to see Carl's carcass. But, I heard crying and screaming.

"You, hold him down." I heard Hershel command.

I kept hearing someone in pain and agony. It was Carl, it had to be. I stood up and went into the room. I saw him being pinned down by Shane and Hershel. Carl kept screaming, I thought my ears were going to bleed.

"Stop!" I yelled.

"You're killing him!" Rick also yelled.

"Guys, do you want him to live?" Hershel questioned.

Carl looked at me, he saw how much pain I was in seeing him in pain.

"He needs blood!" The old lady exclaimed.

"Do it now!" Shane demanded.

The lady started taking blood from Rick, I saw the needle go into Rick's arm. I felt like I was going to faint. The crying and screaming suddenly stopped. Did Carl die?

"He just passed out." Hershel explained as he pulled something out of Carl's stomach. "One down… five to go."

I plopped down into a chair and put my hand on my forehead. I had the biggest headache. They kept tending to Carl, but I didn't listen to what they had to say. I knew it was just a matter of time before… you know.

"I have to find Lori, I have to tell her." Rick said.

"You can't do that." Hershel told.

"She's his mother! She needs to know what happened. Her son's lying here, shot."

"And he's going to need more blood."

"Just use mine. It'll work, won't it?" I interrupted while standing up.

"Kid… it's not healthy for someone your age to be giving blood. I know you want to help, but it's better for you if you don't."

"But he's my friend!"

"I know, I know. But it's not the right thing to do."

I sat back down after a few seconds. Why Hershel, why can't I help my dying friend? All the adults left the room and talked to each other. I stood up and walked over to Carl. I held his hand.

"Carl, I don't know if you can hear me. But if you can, listen up. Don't die on me. You're the only person I have left. If you die, there's nothing left for me. I mean it this time. Mom and Dad, Sophia, they were the people I loved the most. I know your mom is still alive, and I love her like you do, but it's just… I don't know how to explain it, but she doesn't really count. Don't ask why, I just feel that way. Well, you really can't ask me, since you're… you know, unconscious, or maybe even dead. I don't know which one you are, but I'm hoping you aren't dead. I especially hope you don't eventually turn into one of… them. I just want you to know, I love you like a brother. I'm sure you look up to me as a big brother, but I sure am not a good one. I'm forcing you to grow up and I shouldn't, you're still a kid. I am too, but that's besides the point. I may have only met you very, very recently, but our relationship has grown so strong. I know I've rambled on for a while now, and I'm going to stop, because hoping is just a waste of time. Just, just stay alive, okay? Can you do that for me?"

I let go of his hand and sat back down into the chair. I know he may not be conscious, or alive, but I know he heard me. If he somehow survives, that'd be the best thing that happened to me and maybe the entire group ever since the world went to shit.


	17. Chapter 15

I looked outside and saw Otis and Shane loading up a pickup truck. Where are they going? I would go outside, but I decided to stay in the room with Carl. Someone needed to watch him in case something happened. I just looked at him, his unconscious body. I was curious of what was going through his mind. Probably nothing. I drifted off to sleep in the chair.

I was sitting alone in a wide open plain. No walkers, no people.

"Just give up, Jake." A weird voice told me.

"Who are you?"

"That's not important. You've dealt with a lot recently. Carl, Sophia, even your own mother and father. Don't you think it's time to let all of your stress go?"

"What? No, it's not time."

"Yes it is, Jake. It is time."

I saw four walkers appear right in front of me out of nowhere. But they weren't any ordinary walkers. They seemed familiar. I recognized one as Mom. Another as Carl. Another as Sophia, and the last one Dad. It all made sense. Everybody I love is dead. I was surrounded by all of them, and one of them bit me in the neck. And another one bit my arm, another one the leg. I fell down and I was being devoured by them.

I woke up screaming. Thankfully, no one heard me. Or at least I don't think. I looked out the window and saw Lori! A huge smile formed on my face and I ran outside. She let go of Rick and ran to hug me. She hugged me tight and I did the same. We didn't let go for a little while, but when we did she ran upstairs with Rick. Lori saw him and she was a mess. She couldn't get over the fact that Carl was shot. Well, neither could I or Rick, but we didn't break down like she did.

"My boy… My baby boy."

Rick and Lori held hands and grieved over Carl. I kneeled down on the other side of the bed and looked at Carl. Lori looked at me and told me to come over to her. The three of us formed a big hug. It felt like family. We separated and Rick needed to give more blood.

"How many transfusions?" Lori asked.

"Two. Only two." Rick answered.

"He wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. I had to talk him out of it."

I sat back down into the chair and looked at Carl again. He was breathing, so that was good. The rest of the day was pretty slow. I mainly just stayed with Carl. Observed him, watched him. Hershel periodically checked on him and I watched him do that too.

"His pressure is low again." Hershel told.

"Take some more. Whatever he needs, then I'm gonna go." Rick responded.

"Go? Go where?" Lori questioned.

"He said five miles. They should be long back by now. Something's gone wrong"

"Are you insane? You're not going after them."

"Rick, listen to your wife." Hershel added.

"If they got into trouble-"

"You're in no condition to do anything about it." Hershel interrupted Rick. "You've given too much blood. You're barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard."

"If something happened, I've got to go."

"No, your place is here." Lori affirmed.

"Hershel." I interrupted the argument and I stood up. "I know you don't want to have me give him blood, I know you think it's 'not the right thing to do,' but how much more blood could Rick give? I mean, like you said, he's barely on his feet. Do you think if you took any more blood he'd still be conscious? I don't mean to criticize your efforts, because they're really doing wonders right now, but I don't care if it's not the right thing to do, he needs blood, and we both know Rick can't give any more. Please, I'm Carl's friend. I want to help, I want to help keep him alive. Please."

"Jake… you can't possibly-"

"Yes I can Lori. I know what I'm doing and I want to keep Carl alive."

"He has me convinced." Hershel told.

"…Have him do it." Rick told Hershel.

Hershel rolled my sleeve up and stuck a needle in my arm and I started to sweat.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hershel asked me.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Okay. i'm warning you, this is going to hurt a little."

I closed my eyes and fought the pain. Lori held my hand and I squeezed it tightly.

"What happened to your ankle?" Hershel asked me.

"I jumped and landed on it awkwardly." I responded.

"Does it hurt?"

"A lot."

"I'll be sure to take care of that once I'm done with the other boy."

"His name's Carl."

"Carl, got it."

Hershel eventually pulled the needle out of my arm.

"All done." Lori told me.

I tried to get up on my own. Lori tried to help, but I insisted on doing it myself. I finally brought myself to my feet, but something didn't feel right. I felt dizzy and my vision was blurry.

"You, you okay?" Someone asked me. I couldn't tell who it was.

I couldn't keep myself stable. My eyes rolled back and then everything went to black.


	18. Chapter 16

I was in the middle of a forest, all alone.

"Hello!?" I called out.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hi Jake." A familiar voice said.

I turned my head.

"Mom?"

"Hi sweetie. Boy, have you grown up."

"Well, I don't really have a choice."

"You're right, and you're handling it quite well."

"I am?"

"Well, wanting to die isn't, but other than that, yes, you are."

"I just can't handle the stress anymore. With you and Dad, and Sophia and Carl. It's all too much."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you've lost so, so much recently. But let me tell you this. Carl is going to survive and you're going to see Sophia again at some point in the future. I don't know when, but believe me when I say it. You will see her and she'll be glad to see you. Carl will know what you did for him, and he'll appreciate it."

"Is this really happening?"

"Well, yes, this is happening. But you're unconscious, you fainted after giving Carl blood. "

"Mom, why did you have to die?"

"That's a question I don't have an answer to. But don't worry, you'll see me again sometime. I'm not sure when, but you will. I've got to go now, you're father says hi. Jake, always remember to stay strong, no matter what. Even if you feel something is wrong, do it anyway."

She started to disintegrate.

"Mom, wait!"

It was too late, she was gone.

"…I love you."

I turned around and I saw someone else who was familiar.

"S… Sophia?"

She didn't say anything. She walked up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and our lips remained locked for at least a minute. She disintegrated with our lips still locked together. I opened my eyes and she was gone. I sat on the ground. I smiled, that was the first time I actually kissed Sophia. But at the same time it made me sad. Besides the time in the CDC, we never actually kissed. That time it only lasted like a few seconds. I stood up and started walking. I barely made it two feet without falling into a hole in the ground. I felt like I landed on something, but everything was black except my body.

"Did you give up yet?" The voice from my last dream asked me.

"Not you again…"

"Yes, it is me…"

"…No, get away."

I started running.

"Yes Jake, run. Run like you always do."

"What do you mean? I always face what comes in front of me."

"That's what you think…"

"Just give up… Just give up! Just-"

I woke up grasping for air.


	19. Chapter 17

"Oh, thank god you're awake!" Lori exclaimed while pulling me into a hug.

"What happened? Is Carl okay? Did we find Sophia?" I asked.

"Baby, you fainted. You were giving Carl blood and you passed out just after. Your blood was taken beforehand, though. It was given to Carl and he'll greatly appreciate it. As for Sophia, no, we didn't."

"Lori, I had a dream."

"What kind of dream?"

"One a good dream, and then it turned into a nightmare."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, it started of with me in a huge open field. I saw my mom. She told me how much I've grown up. She also told me that I'd see Sophia again in the near future. But she didn't say whether she would be alive, dead, or one of them. Then the nightmare came. I was surrounded by complete darkness. Some weird voice was basically telling me to kill myself."

"Whatever you do, do not listen. You're going to make it through this entire thing. Carl will survive and Sophia will be found. Let's go check on your friend, okay?"

"Okay."

I got up slowly from the bed and we made our way toward Carl. I felt that it was easier to walk. I looked down and a new bandage was wrapped around my ankle. I didn't bother asking why since we were already in the room Carl was in. We sat with him as Hershel checked up on him. He said that we couldn't wait much longer for Shane and Otis. Us three went outside of the room for a little while. We heard coughing and ran inside. Carl was conscious and breathing heavily. Is this what a miracle is like?

"Where are we?" Carl ask frightened.

"Hey little man." Rick greeted Carl. "That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. Alright?"

"Yeah. It hurts. A lot."

"Oh baby, I know. I know." Lori told.

"You should've seen it."

"What?"

"The deer. It was so pretty, Mom. Ask Jake, he was there. …It was so close. I've never been…"

The smile on Carl's face went away in just a split second. He wasn't saying anything. Did… did he die? I stared at his what seemed like lifeless body.

"Carl?" Rick asked.

"What's happening?" Lori also asked.

"Did… did he die?" I asked too.

He started shaking. I was so confused. Lori and Rick tried to hold Carl.

"Don't, it's a seizure." Hershel told. "If you hold him down, you can hurt him."

"You can't stop it!?" Lori questioned.

"He has to just go through it."

Lori pulled me into a hug with her and Rick. I couldn't help but just stare at Carl. It was a horrible sight, but I couldn't look away and I didn't know why. I was so frightened by this. He finally stopped and I let go of Rick and Lori. I could never un-see what just happened for the last thirty seconds.

"His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion." Hershel said.

"Okay, I'm ready." Rick told him.

"If I take any more out of you, your body could shut down. You could go into a coma or cardiac arrest."

"You're wasting time."

I shut up for once, I didn't want to cause any problems. Hershel transfused the blood and Rick fell into a chair. Hershel left the room and me and Lori also sat down.

"…Why couldn't he take more from me?" I questioned.

"If he took any more from you, you'd be in my condition. Or worse." Rick replied.

"I don't care."

"Too late now… Before it happened, we were standing there in the woods… and this deer just crossed right in front of us. I swear, it just planted itself there, and looked the two boys right in the eyes. And I looked at them, looking at that deer, and that deer looking right back at them. And that moment just… slipped away. It slipped away. That's what he was talking about when he woke up. Not about getting shot, or what happened at the church. He talked about something beautiful, something living. There's still a life for us."

I wanted to cry at what Rick just said, but I promised myself I wouldn't. Ever again. After that last sentence I left the room and went into the room I was in a little while ago. I sat on the bed and I kept repeating that last thing Rick said in my head.

"_There's still a life for us. There's still a life for us. There's still a life for us."_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! There probably won't be a chapter tomorrow and maybe not the day after. Sorry! I start working tomorrow and I'm going to be exhausted. Saturday I will, for sure.**


	20. Chapter 18

Me, Lori, and Rick were all back in the room again, sitting silently as Hershel checked on him again.

"He's still losing bloc. Faster than we can replace it." Hershel told. "And with the swelling in his abdomen, we can't wait any longer, or he's just going to slip away… Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this, because I think your boy is out of time. You have to make a choice."

"A choice?" Lori asked.

"A choice. You have to tell me what it is." Rick responded.

The three of us looked at each other as time was thinning rapidly. Hershel was growing impatient and so was I. We all nodded.

"We do it." Lori said as we gathered into a group hug.

Hershel and Patricia gathered all they needed to perform the surgery.

"Okay, get the corner of that bed, let's get all the sheets down. Get the I.V. bag on the sheet." Hershel commanded.

Everybody was doing something except me, I was just there. I hated that feeling, I wanted to help, dammit!

"Okay, on three. One, two, three!" Hershel shouted.

All four of them lifted up a corner of the sheet with Carl on it and I moved out of the way. I guess that's all I'm good for anyway. They set him on a medical cart, or something like that and Hershel and Patricia continued to set up.

"Rick, Lori, Jake, you may want to step out." Hershel suggested.

We were about to walk out until we heard a car engine. We all gathered around a window and saw a blue pickup truck. They were back! We all ran downstairs and outside to Shane and… apparently not Otis.

"Carl?" Shane asked.

"There's still a chance." Rick answered.

"Otis?" Hershel asked.

"…No." Shane replied.

"…We say nothing to Patricia. Not until after, I need her." He said as he ran inside.

Rick and Shane hugged and I hugged Lori. Maggie was starting to cry.

"Lori, do you think he'll live now?" I asked.

She pulled me out of the hug. "The chances are better, the chances are better now." She replied pulling me back in.

We finally pulled out and we waited outside.I eventually sat down in front of the house for what seemed like forever until Lori joined me. I laid down with my head on her lap, and she was rubbing my back. I drifted off into a quick sleep until I saw Hershel stand at the door out of the corner of my eye. We got up and ran over to everyone else.

"…He seems to have stabilized." Hershel explained with a smile on his face.

We all sighed in relief, and me and Lori pulled into another hug. I like her hugs. We pulled out and I saw Rick and Hershel pull out of a hug.

"I don't have words!" Lori exclaimed.

"I don't either, wish I did." Hershel added. "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"

"You go to Carl." Rick told me and Lori. "I'll go with Hershel."

Lori nodded and she nudged me to come with her. We walked upstairs and saw Carl back in bed. Lori kneeled over to him and I did the same on the other side of the bed. Lori broke down into tears, tears of happiness. I couldn't believe it, Carl survived. He made it through. I had my doubts, but he did. We saw Shane come in.

"Stay." Lori said softly.

Shane ended up walking out as we stayed with Carl.

"Hey. Why don't you go to bed, okay?" Lori asked.

"Okay." I answered while standing up.

I was about to walk out, but I looked back at Carl one more time. Lori smiled at me. I went into the other bedroom, crawled into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

**Thank you all SO much for helping my reach 1,000 views! This means a lot to me! I want to give a special shoutout to Future , BLUENIGHT23, and DeltaSandman for reviewing and all of my followers! Let's aim for 2,000!**


	21. Hopefully the Last Update

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been posting recently. Work has me beat. I'm going to try to resume updating on Monday. I'm watching the WD Season 4 Preview Marathon on AMC so I could get some ideas for future chapters. Thanks and see you all soon c:


	22. Chapter 22

I woke up kind of late, or what seemed like late. It was probably the afternoon already. I got up and walked into Carl's room. Nobody else was in there and he was still unconscious. I sat down in a chair and looked at him. After a few mintues, I saw his eyes open.

"Carl!?" I asked as a kneeled beside the bed.

"H-hi." He was able to get out.

"I, I thought you were gonna die."

"Me too."

"What?"

"I thought I was going to die too. I had a dream."

"Weird."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence.

"Sophia's not back yet, isn't she?" Carl asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Dad told me Sophia was alive. He lied, didn't he?"

"…Yes."

"Knew it."

"You should probably sleep some more. Sorry to bother you."

"Bother me? I'm glad to see you so that I know I actually am alive."

I smiled and walked away. I ended up outside.

* * *

The numbering of chapters are going to change. It's annoying since I had to do a few notes/updates. Not a huge deal.


	23. Chapter 23

Everybody was doing their own thing. A few saw me and waved, I waved back. I just walked around aimlessly, doing nothing for a while. I looked over at the RV and walked in that direction. Dale was on watch, but he didn't see me. I walked into the RV and saw something on the counter. It was a gun, but not just any gun. I was the gun I used back at the camp. I picked it up and examined it.

"Hey!" A voice shouted at me.

I turned around.

"What're you doing with that thing?" Dale interrogated me.

"What's it to you?" I talked back.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Where'd you find that?"

"It was just laying on the counter."

"And that means you could just pick it up and take it like that?"

"What's the big freaking deal?"

"Do you even know how to use that thing?"

"Of course I do, how do you think I did what I did back at the camp?"

"That is NOT a toy!"

"I know, you moron!"

"I don't appreciate your attitude!"

"I don't care! I'm old enough to handle myself! It's not like I was going to go all apeshit and shoot everybody here!"

"I'm going to tell Lori about this."

"Go ahead. Go ahead and tell her. Look t my face, does it look like I care at all, you piece of crap? I don't need people telling me what to do, especially since I'm an orphan. Nobody can tell me what to do. This world has made me mature much more than I should've. All I want to do is be able to protect myself and the people I love, but you're preventing me from doing so. Or at least you're trying to. I lost my mom, my dad, and Sophia. I'm going to lose more eventually, but I want to keep them in this world for as long as I can. I don't need you to control me Dale, you don't know me. Now get out of my fucking way and stay out of it. I'm taking this gun with me and there's nothing you can do to stop me, you old hag."

I stormed out of the RV with the gun in my hand. I walked back toward the house, but Lori cut me off.

"I heard a lot of shouting in the RV, what happened?" She questioned.

"…Nothing." I replied.

"Why do you have that gun?"

"…It's mine now. I can protect myself and I want to do the same to others."

I walked away from her and put the gun in my back pocket.

"Jake!" She called to me.

"…What?" I replied.

She walked up to me.

"You can keep the gun, but you have to control your attitude. Got it?"

I remained silent.

"Good." She told as she walked away.

I'm not ashamed at what I said, Dale just should've stayed out of my way and let me be.


	24. Chapter 24

The days have been slow recently, very slow. There was a walker in the well, Daryl was shot by Andrea, had an awkward dinner, Carl got back on his feet, and I learned how to aim with a gun. Pretty eventful week, but a slow one. The days keep getting longer and longer. I'm becoming distant with everybody except Carl. People started to bother me, especially Dale. I almost hate him now. Carl listens to what I have to say and actually asks me questions about it so I know for sure that he does. Despite the situation, he's the closest friend I've ever had. We were eating breakfast outside of the tents.

"So what's it like holding a gun?" Carl asked me with a huge smile on his face.

"You want to know that badly?" I chuckled.

"Oh yeah! I always saw it on TV, and Dad always had a gun with him. He never let me hold it, or use it."

"You want to use my gun?"

"Well, I wasn't really going there, but can I?

I laughed hardly.

"Maybe, Carl. You'd have to ask Rick and Lori first." I told as I took a bite of my food.

"…Carl?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"If I tell you something, can you promise me to keep it a secret? Can you promise me not to tell anyone?"

"Uh, sure."

"I'm planning on leaving."

"Leaving? What do you mean leaving?"

"Leaving the farm, leaving the group."

"What? Why!?"

"There's too much sadness here, too much conflict. If I'm alone out there, I'd only have to deal with myself. I think the attack at the camp was a signal for me to survive on my own."

"No, I'm not letting you do that. Why do you just come into everybody's lives and then you just leave?"

"Carl, shut up. You sound like Dale. I'm not for sure yet, but don't be surprised if I just disappear."

Carl looked down at the ground with a blank expression on his face.

"Not going to cry?" I asked.

"I'm trying not to." He responded.

"Look, I don't want to leave, but I just want to protect my-"

I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm the biggest hypocrite ever. I told Dale that I wanted to protect everybody, but now I'm thinking about bailing out? Well, nobody knows that except me. God, I hate myself.

"Um…" Carl confusedly said.

"Nevermind. Just don't tell anyone, we are the only two people who know about this, and it's gonna stay that way. Got it?" I questioned him.

"Yes." He sighed.

I was going to try and comfort him, but it probably wouldn't have worked. I felt bad for him. The only friend he has left might be leaving his life. But that's no excuse, I know it's the right thing to do to leave them. They don't need me.

"There are walkers in the barn." Glenn randomly spoke.


	25. Chapter 25

We all started walking toward the barn, Shane leading us. Me and Carl fell behind because Carl couldn't keep up with everyone, since he was shot and all. I stayed with him.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Carl asked me.

"Why would he lie?" I asked back.

"…What if there are walkers in the barn though?"

"I don't know. We've been fine not knowing about it, so I'm sure they're not threatening us."

"Not threatening us? But they're walkers!"

"They're concealed. They haven't managed to get out yet."

"What do you think they'll do about it?"

"Kill them?"

"Probably."

By the time we got there, everybody started leaving. Carl finally started walking too, but I stayed. I looked through the crack of the two doors and saw walkers in there. Glenn wasn't lying.

"Um, Jake? What are you looking at?" Carl questioned me.

"The walk-"

A walker looked at me through the doors and scared me.

"…The walkers." I told him.

"Come on, let's go back." He suggested.

"Okay."

The walk was quiet, for the most part.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"What if you leave and Sophia comes back?"

Shit. I know she's dead, but how do I tell Carl?

"Well?" He waited.

"…She'd know… why I left." I responded weakly.

"If she would know, why don't I know?"

"Carl, just stop. I've thought about it already and I know what I'm doing. Don't try and stop me."

Carl walked away from me, he probably cried. He has to man up before he becomes annoying and someone I hate. He's the last person I have left who I can talk to, Lori barely counts. God I hate people. I sat in my tent alone for the rest of the day, I needed a break from everybody. I played with some sticks, took a nap, and just thought about how I'd survive alone. What would I do for food? Shelter? I told myself that I'd figure that out when I actually leave. I got up and walked over to Carl's tent. I zipped it open and saw him laying on his sleeping bag.

"Shane wanted to stop looking for Sophia." Carl said out of nowhere.

"Well…" I started.

"Well what?" He asked.

"I kind of agree with him then." I responded as I heard Carl gasp. "Do you think she can survive out there on her own?"

"Then what makes you think you can survive on your own!?" Carl shouted as he sprang up in tears.

I guess I should've thought that through.

"I don't know. Maybe it's better if I don't survive." I said.

"…I can't believe you. What's gotten into you? We're your family."

"I have no family. At least not anymore."

"Jake, please don't leave." He wiped away his tears.

"We'll see. Carl, do you hate me?"

"No, I'm just sad. I wish you wouldn't leave."

We both got out of the tent and saw everybody move toward the forest.

"Come on." Lori nudged us.

I decided to run ahead, Lori stayed with Carl. From a distance all I heard was yelling from Shane and Rick. I finally caught up.

"Lemme ask you something'. Can a living, breathing person, can they walk away from this?" Shane questioned Hershel.

He shot the walker that Hershel had on a leash I guess. Rick had one too. Were they going to lure them into the barn? Why? Did Hershel know these people? Friends? Family?

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouted out.

"Yeah, you're right man. That is enough."

Shane shot the walker in the head and it fell to the ground. Shane was going crazy! He ran up to the barn and broke the lock on it. He opened the doors and a walker came out. A few people ran up to help Shane. Lori ran over to me and grabbed my arm while keeping Carl tight. She hugged us both tight. I put my hand in my back pocket and pulled out the gun. Lori saw it. I looked at her and she nodded. She let go of me and I ran over to everybody else. I aimed my gun at one of the walkers and shot it in the head. Wow, my first walker kill and I got it in the head. I did again to another walker. The third time I got a walker in the shoulder, and someone else get him in the head. I think it was Andrea. They stopped pouring out, I thought we were done. I was hoping there'd be more so I can get some more target practice. I saw a figure start to come out of the barn, I raised my gun and prepared to shoot the walker, but something stopped me. That walker looked familiar to me for some reason. Long hair, blue t-shirt, tan pants, white shoes. It was Sophia.

"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol cried.

I heard Carol's and Carl's cries behind me. They hurt me, but not as much as seeing Sophia as one of them. I said she was dead, I thought she was. But she's undead. I knew she wouldn't be alive, but I was still in shock. She adjusted to the brightness and started to move towards us, slowly. Very slowly. Nobody was doing anything, they were just looking at her. They were just gonna let her kill all of us? No, nuh-uh. Somebody had to do something. I lifted my gun and carefully aimed it at Sophia's head. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. I opened my eyes and saw her lifeless body on the ground. Everybody looked at me, and I mean everybody. I looked back and forth at everybody and my face remained emotionless. I started backing away slowly until I turned around and walked away from everybody. Lori grabbed my arm, but I shook it off. I stormed away from them. Dale came up to me, but I pushed him away. I didn't want to deal with the criticism, so I took off away from the barn. If I'm going to leave, now would be the time.


	26. Chapter 26

I thought hard while walking away. I walked into the RV and grabbed a backpack. I opened it and went into a cooler. I put a few cans of food in it and some water. I closed the fridge and went to the table. I grabbed a box of ammo, not knowing if it was for the right gun. And then I grabbed a knife. That was everything I thought I needed, so I was ready to go. I put the bag over my shoulders and walked out of the RV. I wondered if I should've left a note, but there was no time. I walked toward the woods.

"So after all that, you're just going to leave?" Carl said out of nowhere.

"I told you to not be surprised if I were to just suddenly leave. You can't stop me." I stated.

"I'm not going to try, I know it won't work."

"Carl," I kneeled and put my hand on his shoulder, "You're a tough kid. You can take on the world if you have to, but hopefully it'll never have to come to that. This world's going to change you, and-"

"Are you telling me this because you're not gonna come back?"

"Are you expecting me to come back eventually?"

"Will you?"

"Probably not, but you never know."

"What do I tell the others?"

"Nothing, they'll think I'm dead. They won't bother looking for me after what happened to Sophia."

Carl hugged me without saying anything. I hugged him back. We stayed together for a long time as I felt his tears drop onto my shirt.

"I need you to do something for me." I told him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I need you to make sure they don't see me leave. Distract them. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Hopefully we'll see each other in the future."

I patted his arm and got up. We walked in opposite directions. After a few minutes I made it into the woods, and I think without being spotted.


	27. Chapter 27

I kept looking for trees that could possibly support my weight for the night. The best technique is to stay above ground where the walkers can't get you. After a little bit of walking, I found a huge tree. It had to be at least twenty feet high with a huge ten foot branch, it was perfect. I started to climb up, but it wasn't easy. There was barely anything to grab onto. I was halfway up, but then I heard something clawing against the tree. I looked down to see a few walkers, but they couldn't reach me up here. I finally reached the branch and sat upon it. I opened my bag and drank some water. It turned out I drank an entire bottle, which if I keep that rate up I'll run out very quickly. As I was just getting settled, I heard screaming and gunshots in the distance. The walkers that were below me started dragging themselves to where the noise was coming from. They were heading further into the woods, that was where the noise was coming from. So what mattered was that it wasn't them at the farm. I rolled my eyes and slid down the tree, taking my bag with me. I didn't want to be the hero at all, but some things must be done sometimes.

* * *

**Sorry this is so short! This is just a comeback chapter and there'll be more to come today.**


	28. Chapter 28

I ran in the direction of the commotion, but I stopped running for a second and saw something on the ground. It was a metal baseball bat. I picked it up and a walker tried munching on my arm, but I backed up and nailed it with the bat. I looked up and a group of walkers were feasting on someone. I ran past them as I heard more screaming and gunshots. It took me a while, but I finally made my way to the source. A group of people was being overrun by a ton of walkers, and they kept flailing their guns around. They didn't hit a single one. I ran in and bashed one in the back of the head. A woman stared at me with a confused look. A glanced back at her and then I smashed another one's head in, and then another. They all noticed me and started making their way toward me. I had no choice but to pull out my gun. It was fully loaded and I shot away, hitting a walker with every shot. There were two left. I pushed one away and smacked the other across the face with my bat, then I tripped the other one, and bashed its head in. There was no sound except for my heavy breathing.

"Who are you!?" Some crazed woman question me.

I didn't answer, I was still trying to catch my breath.

"Tell me who the fuck you are!" She pointed her gun at me.

"Megan, calm dow-"

"Shut up Mike! I want to know who this little fucker is!"

"…How about you calm the fuck down… I, I saved all of your asses and this is the thanks I get?" I responded.

Mike knocked the gun out of her hand.

"Who are you?" He asked me.

"My name's Jake."

"How'd you find us?"

"Heard screaming and gunshots in the distance."

"…Where'd you get that bat?"

"Found it."

"That belonged to one of our members."

"You killed him! You killed Jeremy! Where the hell is my gun!?" Megan yelled as she searched on the ground.

"What? I di-" I stopped myself.

There was no time to talk, that lunatic was going to kill me. I couldn't just run away, she'd follow me and track me down. There was only one choice. I aimed the gun at her head and pulled the trigger. Everybody was shocked, including me. I pointed my gun up again.

"Nobody do anything stupid!" I frantically threatened.

I slowly backed away from everybody.

"Don't come looking for me." I told as I ran away.

I sprinted all the way to my tree and climbed up it. I reached the branch and plopped down seated. I drank some water and heard screaming and gunshots again. I ignored them and closed me eyes, but I couldn't help but picture the people I just saw. After a few minutes, the gunshots stopped and there was only screaming. After a while, there was silence. The sun went down and I went to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

It's been about two weeks since I ran into that group of psychos. I've been managing pretty well. Haven't gotten into too many altercations, doing well on supplies and ammo, and living a nice life alone. It was night time and I was about to go to sleep, but something was preventing me. I looked down and saw the biggest herd of walkers I've ever seen! I pointed my gun down, but I brought it back to me. I wanted to follow them, but I didn't want to get caught in the middle of them. I thought of something creative: branch hopping. There were so many trees in this area that it was manageable. I ran from branch to branch, following this herd. I eventually stopped and looked ahead of me. I saw the farm. I looked down, and saw the walkers heading right in that direction. I sprinted across the branches, and eventually, I made it past the herd. I made my way down to the ground and sprinted back toward the farm. I just about made it, but I saw two black figures standing in the open field. They approached one another and one of them stabbed the other in the stomach. That victim fell to the ground. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I saw a small black figure approach the attacker and it looked like they weren't doing anything, except staring. Something else caught my eye. The stabbed victim started getting up, he had to have been walker! A ran up closer to it and shot it right in it's head. I looked up and the two figures became clear as day… Carl and Rick. Carl dropped the gun he had in his hand, ran over to me, and hugged me like I was gone forever. I looked back and saw the herd, Carl and Rick followed. No words were said, we knew shit was about to go down. We all exchanged looks and started running.


	30. Chapter 30

We ran as fast as we could to escape the herd, but we weren't really succeeding. We ran inside of the barn and Rick locked the doors. We were safe, at the moment. They were trying to break down the doors, all three of us knew we had a limited amount of time to act. Rick ran to the other side of the barn and picked up a tank of something. He started pouring it on the hay on the ground. It looked and smelled like gasoline.

"Oh… shit. All right, okay." Rick muttered. "Hurry, up there."

"What about you?" Carl frantically asked.

"I'll be right there."

Rick handed me a lighter.

"Drop it when I say… We'll stop some of them from reaching the house and distract the others, so at least we'll have a chance… Hey, look at me. You can do-"

"I know." I spat back.

"Alright… Go, go, go!"

I ran up the ladder to get to the upper level, Carl following behind me. We made it up as Rick opened the doors. He was taunting them.

"Hey! Hey! You want some!? Come and get it!" He shouted.

They came storming in as Rick ran toward us. He stumbled back, but he eventually made it up.

"Jake, NOW!" He commanded.

I lit the lighter, dropped it, and watched the whole barn lit ablaze. All of them, burning to a crisp. We were all standing together and Rick nodded at me. I heard gunshots in the background. We ran to an opening in the barn and we were still surrounded. I glanced over to see the RV and we were all yelling to grab the driver's attention. It pulled up and I was the first to jump on top of it. Rick followed me, then he helped Carl over. I let them two go down first as I tried to clear a path down. I shot a few in the head and made my way down. We ran to the front, me still shooting. I stopped to see blood splatter on the windshield of the RV.

"There, toward the woods, come on!" Rick commanded.

We made our way into it and out of sight… hopefully. We ran to the left in a big circle, and I don't think we were being followed. After a lot of running, we made it back near the house. There was a walker in front of us and heading toward a man with a shotgun. I ran up to it and shot it in the head just before it got to him. The man turned around and it was Hershel. The others caught up.

"Where's Lori? Did you see Lori?" Rick asked Hershel.

"I don't know what happened, Rick," he answered, "they just keep coming. It's like a plague, they're just everywhere."

"LORI! Did you see her!?"

"No!"

"We have to go, find mom and the others," he said as shooting a walker.

"It's my farm!"

"Not anymore! Come on! Come on! Come on!"

We ran toward a red van and they began to go in. I tried to clear a path by shooting some more.

"Jake, come on! Let's go!" Rick exclaimed.

I opened the door to the front passenger seat and entered as I continued to clear a path. I closed the door, rolled the window down, and stuck the upper half of my body out.

"Go! Go! Go!" I shouted.

Rick stepped on the gas and we were moving. I kept shooting the ones that were getting in our way. Before I knew it I was out of ammo. I rolled the window up, threw my gun on the floor, and put my hands over my face.

* * *

**I know this is short and it should've been longer, but I tried my best :/**


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